【Anti-bian aid town】
At the meeting, some generals pointed out that Wang Rong had served Zhu Wen on his knees for eleven years, and he and Zhu Wen were married to each other. They paid tribute to Bianzhou in large quantities of gold and silver every year. Their relationship was extraordinary. This time it was definitely It's a scam.
Li Cunxu argued against all opinions and said that everything Wang Rong did was profit-oriented. Several generations of the Wang family had been half-hearted in their treatment of the Tang Dynasty. How could they serve Zhu Wen sincerely? Is Zhu Wen's daughter not as good as Princess Shou'an of the Tang Dynasty (Wang Rong's great-grandfather Wang Yuankui married Princess Shou'an)? Now Wang Rong is in deep danger. If we don't help, we will fall into Zhu Wen's trap! Now, troops should be sent out immediately. Jin and Zhao should unite to drive the Houliang forces out of Heshuo!
Immediately, Zhou Dewei was appointed to take command and sent troops to Heshuo.
Li Cunxu may not be an excellent military strategist, but he must be an excellent politician. When he was a teenager, he had a very thorough understanding of the geopolitics of the Heshuo region, and his vision was even further than that of his father Li Keyong. At that time, Liu Rengong of Youzhou was attacked by Zhu Wen and came to ask for help. Li Keyong also planned to stand by and watch, but Li Cunxu took a far-sighted view and tried his best to persuade his father to ignore the past grudges and repay evil with kindness.
The height determines the vision, and the pattern determines the outcome. Li Keyong is limited to Hedong, while Li Cunxu has the world at heart. Therefore, Li Keyong has preserved Hedong, and Li Cunxu will own the world.
After receiving the support of the Hedong Group, Zhenzhou Chengde Army and Dingzhou Yiwu Army announced their separation from Houliang, restored the reign title of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty (the seventh year of Tianyou), and canceled the names in the territory that were changed to avoid the Houliang taboo, such as Chengde Army because they avoided Zhu Wen Futao (Zhu Cheng) was changed to Wu Shunjun, and from now on it was changed back to "Chengdejun".
Li Cunxu was far-sighted and captured the Heshuo area that Zhu Wen had worked so hard to manage in one fell swoop, allowing Hedong forces to move out of the Taihang Mountains again.
After hearing the news, Zhu Wen immediately asked Wang Maozhang to launch an attack with the intention of recapturing Heshuo. Wang Maozhang joined forces with Wei Boluo and Zhou Han, and combined 40,000 troops to station in Xing and Ming prefectures in Dongzhaoyi. After a short rest, the Northern Expedition army, led by Marshal Wang Maozhang, marched towards Baixiang (now Baixiang County, Hebei Province).
If we unfold a map, the importance of the Battle of Baixiang will be clear at a glance: Baixiang is located to the north of the border between Chengde Army and Weibo Army, on the side of Chengde Army, and further north of Baixiang is the Yehe River, crossing the Yehe River It is Zhaozhou, where the main force of Hedong is stationed. Further north of Zhaozhou is Zhenzhou, and to the northeast of Zhenzhou is Dingzhou.
The headquarters of the two war zones are very close to each other, and the road is flat, with almost no danger to defend. Therefore, when Zhu Wen defeated Heshuo before, the Bian army could move freely between Zhen, Ding and You, sweeping through all the towns in Hebei in one go. .
The strategic position of Baixiang is self-evident. It will determine the initiative of the war and even determine the final outcome of the war. The main forces of the two camps will gather in Baixiang to fight.
Li Cunxu attached great importance to the battle of Baixiang and used almost all his troops. He left Li Cunshen to guard Taiyuan Prefecture and led his army to the front line to join forces with Zhou Dewei. Wang Chuzhi of Dingzhou also sent 5,000 men to join forces. .
The Hedong Army captured more than 200 Houliang soldiers who were out to collect firewood. From these prisoners, they obtained an important piece of information: "Zhu Wen said that Wang Rong was capricious and would cause trouble in the future. Even if the city of Zhenzhou is made of iron, it will still be attacked." Come down!" So Li Cunxu ordered the prisoners to be escorted to Wang Rong, so that Wang Rong could also listen to his father-in-law's inner thoughts.
Li Cunxu led the army to advance slowly, and ordered Zhou Dewei to lead the elite cavalry as the vanguard to challenge in front of the Houliang camp. The troops of Houliang closed the gate of the village tightly and could not get out.
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Cunxu led the main force to station five miles away from Baixiang, and continued to send cavalry to challenge the enemy in front of the Houliang army.
Han Qing, the general of the Later Liang Dynasty, could not bear the humiliation and led 30,000 people out of the camp to pursue them, hoping to use force to fight against the three customs.
These 30,000 Houliang soldiers are all standard honor guards. They are tall and powerful, with bright armor. The armor is decorated with silk and satin, and there are gold and silver ornaments engraved with various patterns on it. They are dazzling and majestic. It looks like a VIP out-of-print skin.
After the Hedong soldiers saw this, their morale dropped sharply and they were greatly frustrated.
Zhou Dewei said to Li Cunzhang: "These Houliang troops do not really want to fight, but deliberately show off their military power to us and undermine the morale of our army. At this time, their spirit must be killed, otherwise our army will not be able to cheer up."
So Zhou Dewei preached to his soldiers: "They are just the honor guard of the back beam. Regardless of their appearance, they are actually a group of sneaky market hooligans. They don't know how to fight at all. They are flashy and can only scare people. Besides, catch them. Come on, aren’t the equipment they have on them your trophies? They are here to give us money, don’t let them get away, brothers, let’s get rich!”
Zhou Dewei personally led a thousand cavalry to charge against the 30,000 Houliang troops. As expected, he won a complete victory and captured more than 100 people.
After achieving a small victory, Li Cunxu and Zhou Dewei had serious differences of opinion. Zhou Dewei advocated conservatism and stood still; Li Cunxu advocated radicalization and pursued the victory.
The reason for this contradiction is that the two people consider the problem from different perspectives. The butt determines the head. Zhou Dewei was entirely from a military perspective, while Li Cunxu was more from a political perspective.
Zhou Dewei believed that the Hou Liang army was so powerful that although it suffered a small setback, it did not hurt its bones and muscles. It still maintained an absolute advantage and should not be arrogant and underestimating the enemy because of a small victory;
Li Cunxu believed that the Hedong Army was advancing alone, and its will to suppress and stabilize was not firm. It might return to the rear beams again at any time and be stabbed in the back. Therefore, the battle should be fought quickly to avoid long nights and dreams.
The two had a heated argument, and most of the generals in the army supported Zhou Dewei's statement. In anger, Li Cunxu threw down his sleeves and left the table, returned to the Chinese army's tent, and fell asleep. The lord has given up his choice.
Li Cunxu was suffering, and he could not tell anyone his difficulties. To put it bluntly, Li Cunxu was seriously wary of Zhou Dewei.
Although Li Kening was eliminated, Li Cunxu's dominance in Hedong is still subject to various potential challenges, such as Zhou Dewei. During the Battle of Luzhou, Li Cunxu asked the surrendered general Ding Hui to take command, while Zhou Dewei served as his deputy. This time, Li Cunxu personally held the battle and supervised on the front line. Li Cunxu was always worried about Zhou Dewei.
Even though Li Cunxu "camped personally", when he and Zhou Dewei had differences of opinion, the vast majority of the generals actually sided with Zhou Dewei. Zhou Dewei's prestige in the army far exceeds that of Li Cunxu. What a dangerous signal this is!
This is the reason why Li Cunxu is so angry. The Hedong army's surname is Zhou, not Li!
Li Cunxu left in a rage, and the generals remained silent.
Zhou Dewei had no choice but to visit Zhang Chengye, the eunuch who oversaw the army, to analyze the battlefield situation for him, and to predict Houliang's next move: to build a pontoon bridge and launch a surprise attack. Zhou Dewei strongly suggested a temporary retreat, luring the Houliang army away from its garrison, forcing it to extend its front line, and then taking advantage of the mobility advantage of the Hedong Army's cavalry to cut off its supply lines. In this way, within a month, the Houliang army would be defeated without any attack.
Among the entire Hedong army, only Zhang Chengye dared to "teach" Li Cunxu a lesson. So, Zhang Chengye broke into the sleeping tent, lifted Li Cunxu's quilt, and grabbed Li Cunxu up. "What time is it? Do you still have the heart to sleep? Get up!"
Zhang Chengye, the eunuch who oversaw the army, was deeply trusted by Li Keyong and was one of Tuogu's important ministers. Li Cunxu called him "Seventh Brother", but actually respected him as his uncle. When he saw it was Zhang Chengye, Li Cunxu couldn't express his pain and didn't dare to express his anger. He lowered his head and sulked, and said casually: "I'm thinking about it!"
Zhang Chengye's earnest words and patient persuasion finally made Li Cunxu understand. The political struggle could be put on hold for the time being, and winning the battle of Baixiang was the top priority. Therefore, Li Cunxu accepted Zhou Dewei's suggestion and retreated overnight that night.
After dawn, no matter how the Hedong soldiers provoked the enemy and insulted them, the Houliang army also closed the gates of the village and refused to go out to fight. When a Houliang soldier who surrendered was interrogated, he said that the commander Wang Maozhang was building a pontoon bridge. After hearing this, Li Cunxu broke out in cold sweat on his back. He turned back to Zhou Dewei and said, "It's just as you expected!"
